Hunter and Kindle
Hunter and Kindle is a campaign mostly set in and around Varawyn, and the actions of a pair of super-soldiers created by the Evolved Society; Hunter and Kindle. They are mostly involved in the conflict between the Cabal and the Evolved Society, on the Society's side. Hunter is a powerfully augmented warrior, who tends to use guns but is also effective in close combat. Kindle is an Izirian man who was augmented to become a fire sorcerer. Caleb Blackwood, an eccentric engineer, joined in on the third session, to be the brains of the operation. This campaign takes place in the year 20.86 Sessions 1: Amnesia / Equal Opportunity Employer Brief Summary Two mechanically-enhanced individuals awaken with amnesia, navigate their way through a ruined hospital, and discover that they were partially responsible for ruining it. They learn more about why they are here, kill the person responsible, and eventually speak to Baron Conroy Pendlehurst, who invites them to join his group. After talking to Lord William Storminster, they become official agents of the Evolved Society. Detailed Summary Two people wake up in a ruined building, with no memories and in a state of confusion. One, Hunter, find himself unable to walk. The other, Kindle, is completely blind. Upon crawling through the wreckage and meeting each other, they decide to try and work together to get out. Hunter discover that he has several metallic augmentations; augmented legs, one augmented arm, and one side of his face. He also discovers that he seems to be low on whatever power source is keeping him active, hence stopping his legs working. They find a wheelchair, and Kindle begins to wheel Hunter around, with his direction. They seem to be in some kind of hospital, with many wrecked machines, and they are wearing hospital gowns. They enter a room full of beds, which also seems quite wrecked, and find the beds they had been on, discovering their code names noted down on clipboards. These were obviously "Hunter" and "Kindle". From these, they also discover what the purpose of the experiments was; Hunter was an experiment to create a super soldier, and Kindle was an experiment to imbue a body with sorcerous powers through technology. A third bed is unoccupied, with the name "Beast" noted down. Following a trail of destruction and navigating the dangerous terrain, Hunter and Kindle eventually find beast; who seems to have been given four insectoid legs and a large electro-blaster replacing one of his arms. He also seems to be completely insane, and is found next to the dead body of a scientist, only speaking in grunts and roars. Hunter and Kindle approach, and Beast immediately grows violent. A small skirmish takes place, in which Hunter utilises his wrist pistol, and falls down the non-wheelchair friendly stairs. They eventually kill beast, and find a key card on the dead body of the scientist, which they use to gain access to other parts of the lab. In one room they find a pair of turrets, which are eager to shoot anyone who crosses their path. They defeat these turrets, and find that the room is an armoury, which they take some gear from. Also in this room, Hunter finds a power source, and is able to walk again. They come across a nervous scientist, who is holed away in a vault and is very trigger happy. They speak with him briefly, but he is reluctant to talk to them, revealing that they were responsible for the ruination and chaos. Apparently something went wrong, and the device keeping them in stasis malfunctioned, along with most of the other security systems in the lab. The scientist does give them the elevator code, and tells them to leave him alone. Once in the elevator, the pair decide to go down, and find themselves deep underground. At the end of a corridor is a scientist with a Rotary Cannon, who threatens that he's not afraid to shoot them if they get close. Ignoring his threats, Hunter runs up and knocks him out, only to find that the gun wasn't even loaded. In the next room are many capsules, and at the far end is a businessman speaking to someone on the radio and two thugs hauling the capsules towards a Cableway Carriage. As Hunter and Kindle go further into the room, they discover that the capsules have people in them, other super soldiers, kept in stasis. They overhear the conversation and discover that the businessman is Mr Kingsbury, who seems to be being chastised by the voice on the other end of the radio. Apparently Kingsbury is trying to evacuate with all the experiments he still has. Hunter and Kindle ambush the group, and have a brief fight with the thugs, while Kingsbury retreats into the carriage, firing his revolver at the pair. Kindle burns one thug to death, and Hunter shotguns the other one in the head. Kindle then goes into the carriage and indiscriminately lets out a gout of flame, massively over-killing the businessman. Hunter and Kindle get onto the carriage and get going, along with the radio and one of the capsules that had been loaded. Hunter shoots the figure inside the capsule in the head. The radio activates, and the voice from before speaks to the pair. He claims to be Baron Conroy Pendlehurst, leader of the group that ran this hospital, and claims that he can give the pair all the answers they need if they join his organisation. He tells them to come to 124 Harwick Avenue, where they will find his associates. Once the Cableway reaches the surface, the pair find themselves on a lower level of Varawyn, near to a hospital called the Kingsbury Hospital. Realising that they are still wearing their hospital gowns, Hunter finds a nearby homeless person and trades his gun for the man's jacket. He then kills the man anyway. They both take the homeless man's clothes, and make their way to Harwick Avenue, a stunning street high above the rest of Varawyn. Once they arrive, a butler claims to have been expecting them, and leads them to the office of Lord William Storminster, Lord Architect of Varawyn. Lord Storminster explains to them that before they'd been experimented on by the hospital, they'd been working class people in terrible life situations. Hunter had been a factory worker called Percival, who lost his legs in an explosion. Kindle had been Sallah; a former Izirian slave, whose eyes were gouged out as punishment for disobedience. Both characters decided that they didn't want to go back to that life, and keenly accepted the invitation to the group, which Lord Storminster revealed was called the Evolved Society. 2: Slaughter on the Erdannian Express / Hunter; King of Trains / Hunter; Racist Brief Summary Hunter and Kindle are sent to kidnap Lady Cynthia Gilbrad, who was the reason for the chaos at the Kingsbury Hospital. In addition, they were told to reclaim the Iron Soldiers that she had stolen. Tracking her to a train headed to Erradan, the two begin a friendly competition to see who can throw most people off a train. They fight Cynthia's hired mercenaries; a squadron of the Free Company, and the Rogue Iron Soldiers. They eventually hijack the train, leading to a climactic battle against the mercenary captain; Zanni Kaydanite, which they win. 3: Into the Underfog / Rogue Arms / Death by Donut Brief Summary Hunter, Kindle, and new team member Caleb Blackwood, journey into the Underfog to determine the cause of the incident at the Kingsbury hospital, only knowing the name "Project Circe". They follow the trail of destruction that Project Circe has created, meet an Evolved Scout named Axel, sneak through territory owned by the Peacekeepers, fight Stitchers, and meet Bobby, the Clockwork King. They eventually delve deep under Varawyn, and face Project Circe, who seems to be some kind of entity that can control mechanical devices. They almost die at the hands of her and her minions, but manage to prevent her getting away with an ancient piece of technology. Characters Player Characters Hunter Kindle Caleb Blackwood Followers/Friendly NPCs Lord William Storminster Doctor Thane Axel Samson Neutral/Unknown Alignment Baron Conroy Pendlehurst Wilson Greene Elizabeth Kerrington Lady Gwenevere Bridgecastle Lady Loom Bobby, the Clockwork King Antagonists Beast Mr Kingsbury Lady Cynthia Gilbrad Captain Zanni Kaydanite Circe Involved Factions The Erdannian Empire The Cabal The Evolved Society The Free Company The Peacekeepers The Clockwork Kingdom The Stitchers